


Leading Light

by PolarGrizz47



Category: Destiny (Video Games)
Genre: Awakening of the Traveler, Cuddles, Kissing, M/M, Near Death Experiences
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-11
Updated: 2018-12-11
Packaged: 2019-09-16 07:50:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,303
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16949967
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PolarGrizz47/pseuds/PolarGrizz47
Summary: "You know how this'll end. We'll die where we rightfully belong, fighting the enemies of the Traveler."





	Leading Light

**Author's Note:**

> Been chewing through this for a few days. A 'what-if' scene, if Milo was a NPC :3c

Missing an arm and a leg, Cayde sits by the Vex teleporter with Milo's head in his lap. He tried to keep the charming act up for their light guided Guardian - who looked scared shitless - but it was hard when Milo was wheezing for air between bloodied coughs.

"One step and you'll be right next to the big guy -"

Milo rasped out a laugh, "Give 'em hell, yeah?"

The Guardian looks between their wounded Vanguard and nods, pausing only slightly to take in the damage that Milo seemed to have walked into, his torso torn and leaking like an unkempt sieve, the seconds ticking by on his life. It fills them with an understanding urgency.

Guardians and civilians alike are dying. Lives wasted in an unfair battle.

They step through, disappearing with a crackle of unstable Vex energy to face either their death or a new era.

The leftover silence from the teleporter is deafening. Cayde's good hand strokes through Milo's sweaty forehead, nervously counting each shudder that wracks through his lover's frame. For once, he was at a loss of words. The sounds of war echo in the distance, only interrupted by Milo's terrible coughing, hacking up blood on his ruined armor.

Romea floats by her Guardian's chest, silent and terrified, her optics focused on the wounds that she cannot heal.

"You just had to go and one up me, didn't you?" Cayde finally manages, looking at his missing limbs. "Couldn't let me have the ' _oh, I'm wounded!_ ' spotlight, huh?"

Milo smiles, teeth rimmed in red and his eyes lidded. "Can't... let you h...have all the fun," Another gasp seizes him, and he kicks his legs out weakly.

He'd forgotten the drawn-out and sharp, rusted blade of pain.

Death came quick, and often, as a Guardian.

Now, as he lays here, face to face with his unwanted mortality, Milo can't think of anything witty to say. That was Cayde's job.  
Instead, the two Hunter's sit in silence.

Cayde reaches over purposefully, pushing at Milo's chest as if it would stop the bleeding. A series of slug shots were not easy to work around, stemming the blood flow was essentially useless.

Clumsily, Milo clutched at his sleeve. His eyes fluttered, exhaustion and darkness creeping up on him.

"Guys," Milo whispered, lolling his head to glance at Zavala and Ikora in turn. "It... its been an honor -" He coughed and dropped his head roughly against the floor as if that would chase away the reaper. The pain made him hiss in a breath between his clenched teeth, the smell of blood suffocating him.

"Hey," Cayde grabs his hand, squeezes it tightly before lifting those trembling knuckles to his lips. "Don't you start monologuing too, Milo. We're gonna be fine," He muttered, pressing a kiss against his hand gently. "Yeah... just fine, so relax," The Vanguard raised his gaze to the sky, waiting with bated breath.

Either they were all dead.

Or one Guardian could turn the tide.

-:-

"Milo - Milo, stay with me," Cayde muttered, giving his lover a rough shake. The man gasped quickly, head lolling as the exo cradled him close. The Vanguard's voice was trembling as he whispered, "We've almost won - you don't wanna miss it now, do ya?"

Those dark eyes fluttered, barely open, clinging to his last breaths. The blood had spread throughout his armor, staining him in a theatrical red. Cayde would've laughed if it was a time for festive hauntings.

Ikora was knelt beside them, her hands firmly pressing against the worst of the wounds. The blood still seeped between her knuckles richly, perfuming the air with the terrible truth of Milo's ending life.

Romea was huddled against Milo's throat, her eye flickering and shell trembling. She was losing him, and she was helpless without the light. She couldn't help him, couldn't soothe the pain... save him.

Her voice escaped her in her terror.

Who would she be without Milo?

She couldn't bear it...

Milo weakly reached up with a bloodied hand, cupping Cayde's features. His smile was distant, pained. "Won't... miss it... promise..." He grunted, a cough rattling out of him

-:-

Ikora bowed her head, bloodied hands at her sides as Zavala placed a consoling touch on her shoulder. Considering a wound like that, without medical supplies, it was no surprise that Milo slipped through their fingers. There was nothing they could've done.

"C'mon, not like this," Cayde croaked as he held tight to Milo, cradling him close to his chest. "No, we -- we're gonna win this, baby," The exo choked, running his good hand through the sweat-dampened hair of his lover.

It was heartbreaking, Sundance could feel Cayde's emotions rising and falling with defeat as he rocked subtly, clutching the other's Hunter's body like a broken promise.  
Romea whirled around them, her own voice weak, "It's over. He's - he's -"

Above them, the Traveler's light exploded outwards. It washed the land in its awakening glory, throughout the world and then the entire system and beyond.

Sundance looked towards the Traveler as the whispers of the light caressed them all and she turned quickly towards Romea. "Do it, now."

Romea was already crying out, her voice pitched and desperate as she tried to channel the remaining wisps of Milo's light into something tangible, into another life.

-:-

Milo found himself standing in a place that was far too bright. He held a hand up to his face, peering out from between the safety of his fingertips questioningly. "Cayde?... Romea?" He called out, finding that his voice only echoed on endlessly into silence.

Despite that, he felt at peace. No fear consumed him. No pain touched him.

He could feel a humming in his veins as if the light itself was singing across his body. He lowered his hand, blinking as the brightness dimmed around him softly, lovingly.  
 _"Are you ready to come home?"_

The voice was airy and gentle, causing his heart to soar and a smile to pull at his lips. Despite this, he felt a tinge of sadness. Unwillingness to leave his life.

Romea... and Cayde, the others, the city... his home...

As if it could read his mind, the voice gently sang, _"You wish to live again, Guardian?"_

Milo's voice betrayed him, cracking in silence as he bowed his head and subtly nodded. The voice chuckled, the sound filling the area with warmth, with understanding. _"Very well, Milo. May your light lead them even in the dark."_

-:-

"Milo!" Cayde shouted, static bleeding into his tone as he struggled to hold his lover upright, desperation causing him to shake. "... Milo, please..." The exo whispered, hanging his head as Milo's body stayed still and limp.

Romea's voice faltered into a sob. "I - I tried -- I used our light --"

Suddenly, A gasp, violent and desperate rang itself out of Milo's clogged lungs before he shot forwards and coughed, clearing his airways. Despite being healed, the leftover claws of death still needed to be shaken off.

Milo heard various sounds of relief and joy erupt around him before he was hugged tightly and pulled closer into Cayde's chest, several hands touching at him to ensure that he really was alive and well. A laugh escaped him, breathless and amazed as he weakly clutched at Cayde's arm.

A few moments passed before he moved his hand lower and startled, jerking back to take in Cayde's appearance. His eyes flickered over the ruined exo's body, then to Sundance, and finally, they landed on Romea.

He smiled softly, opening his hands up welcomingly as she flew into them, pressing her shell into his palm. He cradled her close and wheezed out a laugh, dizzy and filled with a mixture of grief and relief.

"Did - did we win?" Milo asked, blinking past the tears that filled his eyes as he felt Romea tremble in his hands, experiencing her terror giving way into hope.

Ikora put a steadying hand on his shoulder as Cayde melded himself to his side, too busy hugging the other hunter to even get his mouth to work properly. The warlock's eyes were soft and teary as she nodded, "We did it. The Traveler was awoken."

"I - I think --" Milo lifted his gaze up to the Traveler, taking in its damaged glory. It glowed like a beacon, a star to be protected and cherished. His voice broke, the confusion turning into awe and understanding. "Thank you," He whispered, to the Traveler.

Zavala, who was crouched at their side, nodded in agreement, his eyes on the reborn Traveler. A new horizon was dawning for humanity.

For a long moment, they cherished their victory. Their undying bond. Their made family.

Milo pressed his cheek into Cayde's shoulder, feeling exhaustion crashing down upon him. Cayde breathed in deep, his arm clutching around Milo's shoulders needily. Despite seeing Milo alive and awake, he just couldn't shake off the haunting horrors of seeing his lover dead.

He'd almost lost him...

Romea floated into his cloak, huddling against his throat before she reminded, "Cayde... your arm."

"And leg," Sundancer agreed, her optics already lighting up with a healing beam.

-:-

Milo flopped against the bed with a heavy sigh before turning and curling tightly into Cayde's side. The exo gave a sleepy sound, a chirp that fizzled down into a happy groan as he wrapped his arms around Milo's chest. He felt very small without his armor and Cayde kicked himself for forgetting how it felt to hold his lover so close.

The last few weeks had been a whirlwind of activity. Scouts were sent, Guardians were buried, relics were recovered and cities were rebuilt. It never stopped, and when they finally got a break - together - the two merely wanted to sleep.

Despite it all, as they laid there, tangled together, Cayde couldn't get his mind off those last moments. How tightly Milo had held their hands together, how his head lolled and the blood poured. It still flashed in his mind whenever he found himself drifting off and Cayde wondered if it was guilt that kept him awake at night.

Milo shifted, his fingertips curling underneath Cayde's chin as he turned the man's face towards him. A sleepy smile curved on his lips and Milo leaned forwards to plant a kiss gently to Cayde's features.

"Stop thinking so loudly, I'm trying to sleep here," He whispered between kisses, smoothing his palm across Cayde's cheek.

The Hunter Vanguard chuckled once they settled, holding Milo around the waist as they lounged. Finally, he worked his jaw and painfully whispered, "You know... I really thought that I'd lost you..."

Milo turned, lifting his dark eyes onto Cayde with a sigh. "I know... I'm sorry -"

"Don't be. You did what you had to."

"I'd do it again," Milo informed, pressing a hand over his chest where he'd been shot up like target practice. "It was instinct." He'd taken the shots for Cayde, of course. Without thinking, he'd placed himself between certain death and his lover. He could still remember Cayde supporting him as he collapsed back, frenzied and terrified as the head of the Leginorary exploded with a single, well placed, hand cannon shot.

"It was stupid - I can take care of myself -"

"Uh huh, really?" A smirk played over those freckled features and Cayde grumbled before shrugging.

"Alright, it's... fifty-fifty, but usually I'm quite good."

"It's sexy, I'll admit," Milo pulled their lips together one last time before sighing and sitting up some, his hand tapping at Cayde's chest, over his heart. "Cayde... You know I'd do anything to keep you safe."

"And I'd do the same for you. But it's not fair when you keep beating me to the punch. There's only so many close calls you can wrangle yourself out of, Milo," He whispered while taking his lover's hand and lacing their fingers together.

A silence stretched on between them as they sat there, leaning against each other, hands intertwined.

Milo wet his lips and nodded somberly. "I know... And you know that I can't stop -"

"We could," Cayde muttered, looking at him with saddened blue optics. "Run away together, you and me -"

"An indulgence fantasy that would die as soon as the guilt set in?" Milo bumped against Cayde's shoulder, chuckling. "You know how this'll end. We'll die where we rightfully belong, fighting the enemies of the Traveler."

"Not so much of a grand finale when you put it that way," The exo muttered, leaning back against the bed and coaxing Milo's head onto his chest. He kept an arm draped over his lover's frame, enjoying the familiarity of their light. "I hope I never have to see you like that again..."

"We have the light back," Milo whispered, lifting his features to kiss gently at Cayde's chin. "It won't happen again -"

"I'll make sure of it."

"Alright, hero, relax," Milo chuckled, reaching over and yanking a worn, blue blanket over them. "You watch my back and I'll watch yours, always."

"Always," Cayde agreed, nodding as he settled into the bedding and adjusted his grip on Milo. A yawn escaped his lover and he fondly ruffled his hair. "Get some sleep, I'll be here."

"Likewise," Milo strained through another yawn, pressing his face into the coolness of Cayde's throat. "And Cayde?"

"Mhm?"

"I love you."

Cayde grinned like a fool, his heart filling with a warmth that spread throughout his body and tingled throughout every limb. He pressed a kiss to Milo's unruly hair and nodded.

"Love you too, baby."

It didn't fix the fear that lingered in Cayde's heart about that brutal, fighting end that awaited each Guardian's journey. Despite it all, however, he felt a little more at peace. Holding Milo like this, with their light humming happily and healthily between them put Cayde's restless mind at ease.

If only for a little while.

**Author's Note:**

> Hope it was enjoyable! I love writing Milo and Cayde, they're so cute. Figured I'd publish this for Dawning, happy event everyone!!
> 
> If you want to follow my shitposting Destiny twitter, do so here! (mildly nsfw text  
> https://twitter.com/PolarGrizz47)


End file.
